Finding a company with a long track record of consistent dividend payments is only part of the winning formula for investing in dividend stocks. Dividend growth matters, too. Rising dividends not only make a stock more attractive to new income investors, but steady dividend hikes also reward existing investors on shares purchased at lower prices in the past.
It's not hard to find well-known names with long track records of annual dividend growth. Just start with the Dividend Aristocrats, a list of 50 companies in Standard & Poor's 500-stock index that have hiked their dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. A number of huge companies top this list, including AT&T (T (opens in new tab)), Exxon Mobil (XOM (opens in new tab)) and Procter & Gamble (PG (opens in new tab)). But there's a world of smaller, lesser known stocks that boast consistent dividend growth of four decades or more. We culled the following sometimes surprising names from among the 25 smallest Dividend Aristocrats. Check out these 17 stocks whose dividends have increased annually for at least 40 consecutive years.
(Dividend yields and other figures are as of June 30, 2017. Companies are listed in order of market capitalization—share price times total shares outstanding—starting with the highest. Analysts’ ratings provided by Zacks Investment Research. The full list of 50 Dividend Aristocrats is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices (opens in new tab). Dividend history based on company information and S&P data.)
Sysco
- Symbol: SYY (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $53.86
- 52-week range: $47.15 - $57.07
- Dividend yield: 2.4%
- Market cap: $30 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 4 strong buy, 0 buy, 5 hold, 0 underperform, 1 sell
Sysco, a food services and restaurant supply company, is ramping up revenues by making acquisitions. The company bought European services and supplies company Brakes Group last year, as well as the Supplies on the Fly e-commerce platform. Sales for the quarter ended April 1 were up 12.7% to $13.5 billion, due in large part to contributions from Brakes Group. Sysco has paid a quarterly dividend every quarter since going public in 1970, and the annual payout has risen every year since 1976.
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PPG Industries
- Symbol: PPG (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $110.78
- 52-week range: $89.64 - $113.49
- Dividend yield: 1.5%
- Market cap: $29 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 11 strong buy, 0 buy, 7 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Paints and coatings company PPG Industries is on the prowl for a big acquisition after Dutch firm Akzo Nobel rejected its $25 billion offer. Potential targets could be closely held Kelly-Moore Paints or Brazil’s Tintas Suvinil, a division of BASF, according to UBS. Either way, the company is under pressure to get bigger after Sherwin-Williams, a fellow Dividend Aristocrat and competitor in the paint business, recently acquired Valspar. PPG has raised its dividend for 45 consecutive years.
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Consolidated Edison
- Symbol: ED (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $80.82
- 52-week range: $68.76 - $85.13
- Dividend yield: 3.4%
- Market cap: $25 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 0 strong buy, 0 buy, 6 hold, 0 underperform, 3 sell
Utility stocks have long been known as ideal investments for widows and orphans thanks to slow-but-steady growth secured by the near-monopolistic nature of the business. Founded in 1823, Consolidated Edison fits the profile. It provides electric, gas and steam service for the 10 million customers in New York City and Westchester County. ConEd’s dividend has gone up annually for 42 straight years and counting.
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Archer-Daniels-Midland
- Symbol: ADM (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $41.38
- 52-week range: $39.01 - $47.88
- Dividend yield: 3.1%
- Market cap: $24 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 1 strong buy, 0 buy, 8 hold, 0 underperform, 1 sell
Archer-Daniels-Midland processes ingredients for food and feed, including corn sweeteners, starches and emulsifiers such as lecithin. It also has a commodities trading business. Following a pattern of growing through acquisitions, in January 2017 ADM bought Crosswind Industries, a company that specializes in pet treats, pet food and related ingredients. It didn’t disclose terms. ADM has increased its payout to shareholders every year for 42 years.
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C.R. Bard
- Symbol: BCR (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $315.58
- 52-week range: $203.63 - $316.80
- Dividend yield: 0.3%
- Market cap: $23 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 0 strong buy, 0 buy, 14 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Get to know C.R. Bard before it disappears from the list of Dividend Aristocrats. The medical products company agreed in April to be acquired by bigger rival Becton, Dickinson (BDX (opens in new tab)) for $24 billion. The deal, which is currently undergoing review by regulators, is expected to close in the fall of 2017. Meantime, C.R. Bard is still paying out a dividend that has gone up every year for 46 straight years. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, acquirer Becton, Dickinson is a fellow Dividend Aristocrat with 45 straight years of dividend growth.
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V.F. Corp
- Symbol: VFC (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $57.60
- 52-week range: $48.05 - $65.28
- Dividend yield: 3.0%
- Market cap: $23 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 6 strong buy, 0 buy, 11 hold, 1 underperform, 1 sell
Even if you don’t have the stock in your investment portfolio, you probably have the company’s products in your closet. V.F. Corp. is an apparel maker whose well-known brands include Lee, Wrangler, Nautica, Vans and The North Face. Name recognition aside, the ongoing – and, arguably, accelerating – struggles of bricks-and-mortar retailers is taking a toll on business, with first-quarter profits and revenues declining year over year. What isn’t declining is the dividend growth. V.F. has lifted its annual payout to investors every year for 44 years.
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Stanley Black & Decker
- Symbol: SWK (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $142.89
- 52-week range: $103.86 - $143.84
- Dividend yield: 1.6%
- Market cap: $22 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 8 strong buy, 0 buy, 7 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Stanley Black & Decker is widely recognized as a maker of tools, but the company also operates diverse businesses ranging from security systems to pipeline services. Management is pursuing a strategy of growth through acquisitions, with a goal of doubling annual sales to $22 billion by 2022. Stanley Black & Decker bought Newell Tools from Newell Brands (NWL (opens in new tab)) for $2 billion last year, and in January negotiated the purchase of Craftsman tools from Sears Holdings (SHLD (opens in new tab)) for a total of $775 million over three years and a percentage of annual sales. Stanley, which has paid a dividend since 1877, has lifted its dividend every year since 1968.
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Nucor
- Symbol: NUE (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $56.13
- 52-week range: $44.81 - $68.00
- Dividend yield: 2.8%
- Market cap: $18 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 10 strong buy, 0 buy, 3 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Despite a strong rally in the broader stock market, shares of the steelmaker have bounced around in 2017 on worries over steel prices and a global steel glut. On June 15, Nucor warned that its second-quarter profits would come in below first-quarter levels due in part to cheap imports. However, management is holding out hope that the U.S. government will take action to deter foreign dumping and prop up domestic steel prices. Meanwhile, Nucor continues to hike its dividend every year, as it has done since 1974.
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Hormel
- Symbol: HRL (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $33.94
- 52-week range: $32.90 - $40.00
- Dividend yield: 2%
- Market cap: $18 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 3 strong buy, 0 buy, 5 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Even if you don’t know Hormel, you certainly know its signature product: Spam. But the canned ham is far from the only company offering you’ll find on supermarket shelves. Other products run the gamut from deli meats to canned chili and stew. Zacks recently cautioned investors about the stock due to slumping turkey prices, which have hampered Hormel’s Jennie-O brand. Management expects the oversupply of turkeys to eat into 2017 profits more than expected. Meantime, Hormel continues its streak of annual dividend increases, which currently stands at 51 years in a row and counting.
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Clorox
- Symbol: CLX (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $140.12
- 52-week range: $111.24 - $141.76
- Dividend yield: 2.4%
- Market cap: $18 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 1 strong buy, 0 buy, 10 hold, 1 underperform, 0 sell
Clorox, whose brands include its namesake bleaches, Glad trash bags and Hidden Valley salad dressing, continues to enjoy robust sales and earnings gains in 2017. The upbeat results are being driven in part by new products such as OdorShield trash bags, according to Morningstar, and management expects sales and earnings to stay strong for the rest of the year. Clorox, which boosted its quarterly cash dividend by 5% in May, has raised its dividend annually for 40 consecutive years.
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Genuine Parts
- Symbol: GPC (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $91.27
- 52-week range: $86.61 - $105.97
- Dividend yield: 2.8%
- Market cap: $14 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 1 strong buy, 0 buy, 6 hold, 1 underperform, 0 sell
The company is best known for its NAPA Auto Parts chain, which has 6,000 locations in the U.S., but Genuine Parts also makes industrial replacement parts, office products and electrical materials. The business diversity can help fuel growth. In October, it bought Braas Company, a distributor of products and services for industrial automation and control. The deal is expected to generate an extra $90 million a year in sales. A long-time dividend machine, Genuine Parts has bumped up its dividend annually for 61 years in a row.
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Dover
- Symbol: DOV (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $80.95
- 52-week range: $63.93 - $84.40
- Dividend yield: 2.1%
- Market cap: $13 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 4 strong buy, 1 buy, 8 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
The global manufacturer operates in four industries: energy, fluids, engineered systems and refrigeration equipment. You might have fueled up your car from one of its gas pumps or bought groceries from one of its refrigerated display cases. Since Dover sells to customers worldwide, unfavorable foreign exchange rates have hurt sales of late. A strong dollar means sales made overseas lose value when converted back into U.S. currency. But that hasn’t stopped the company from maintaining it focus on dividend growth. Dover has recorded 61 straight years of dividend increases.
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Cincinnati Financial
- Symbol: CINF (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $72.38
- 52-week range: $68.11 - $79.60
- Dividend yield: 2.7%
- Market cap: $12 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 0 strong buy, 0 buy, 1 hold, 0 underperform, 1 sell
Cincinnati Financial’s stock performance has gotten off to a disappointing start to 2017. The share price is down 3% year to date, even as Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is up 9%. Widespread storms in the South and Midwest hurt first-quarter profits at the property and casualty insurer. But short-term operating setbacks didn’t hurt the company’s reliable dividend. Cincinnati Financial has lifted its cash payout annually for 56 years and counting.
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Pentair
- Symbol: PNR (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $66.49
- 52-week range: $53.80 - $69.03
- Dividend yield: 2.1%
- Market cap: $12 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 3 strong buy, 0 buy, 9 hold, 1 underperform, 1 sell
Dividend investors will want to keep an eye on all the changes afoot at Pentair. The diversified industrial manufacturer sold its valves and controls business to Emerson Electric (EMR (opens in new tab)) in April for more than $3 billion. Soon after, management announced plans to split Pentair into two separate companies by the second quarter of 2018. One company will focus on water operations and the other on electrical technology. Quarterly payouts will continue in the meantime, though the dividend will be re-evaluated once the split is completed. Pentair has raised its dividend every year for 41 consecutive years.
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W.W. Grainger
- Symbol: GWW (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $174.66
- 52-week range: $168.58 - $262.71
- Dividend yield: 2.8%
- Market cap: $10 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 1 strong buy, 0 buy, 10 hold, 0 underperform, 3 sell
W.W. Grainger sells all manner of equipment and supplies to industrial customers. Its product catalog is more than 3,000 pages. But looming online competition from (who else?) Amazon.com (AMZN (opens in new tab)) has investors nervous and has forced the company to trim prices to stay competitive. First-quarter profits failed to beat analysts' earnings estimates in April, and management warned investors that sales will improve more slowly this year than previously thought. The share price has been falling ever since and is currently one-third below its 52-week high. W.W. Grainger has boosted its annual dividend payout every year for 46 straight years.
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Federal Realty Investment Trust
- Symbol: FRT (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $126.39
- 52-week range: $120.50 - $171.08
- Dividend yield: 3.1%
- Market cap: $9 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 6 strong buy, 0 buy, 7 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Federal Realty Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust that specializes in leasing space to retailers. Its biggest tenants include Ahold, a supermarket operator, discounter TJX Cos. (TJX (opens in new tab)) and apparel seller The Gap (GPS (opens in new tab)). And while bricks-and-mortar retail is a shaky industry at the moment, Federal Realty diversifies its risk by leasing to non-retail tenants such as gyms and movie theaters. Since REITs are required to pay out most of their earnings as dividends in exchange for certain tax benefits, they are a go-to source for income. No REIT has been steadier than Federal Realty, which has lifted its payout annually for 49 years in a row.
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Leggett & Platt
- Symbol: LEG (opens in new tab)
- Share price: $52.97
- 52-week range: $44.02 - $54.97
- Dividend yield: 2.7%
- Market cap: $7 billion
- Analysts’ opinion: 2 strong buy, 0 buy, 3 hold, 0 underperform, 0 sell
Leggett & Platt makes components for manufacturers of upholstered furniture, beds and other home furnishings. It’s not a particularly famous name or a particularly glamorous business, but the stock has been a star for long-term shareholders. Shares have more than doubled the return of the S&P 500 over the past 10 years. Leggett & Platt has increased its dividend payout every year for 46 consecutive years. According to the company, dividends rose at a compound annual rate of 13% over that period.
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